Segmentation, frequency and time line between letters
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Could you talk about how often direct mail solicitations should be sent?
ANSWER
As often as you get a positive response!
Seriously, this depends on many factors: the policies of your organization, your budget, etc. Many orgs mail 7-12 times per year. The bottom line reality, if you aren't mailing your donors - someone else will.
I have a new CEO who does not want us to segment our next appeal or to do more than two appeals annually. As a former annual fund director at a major college, I believe in a segmented approach as well as a more aggressive schedule for past donors. Any thoughts? Also, what do you think of mailing "off-season" as a tactic? Do you have any suggestions for timing a last ditch appeal before June 30?
ANSWER
She or he is dead wrong. In refusing to segment and in reducing the frequency of your appeals lies the path to bankruptcy. Success in direct response (mail, phone, email, etc.) is grounded in frequency and segmentation.
I'm not sure what you mean by "off-season" or a "last-ditch appeal before June 30." Donors don't follow your calendar -- they are attuned to the real calendar, the one that ends December 31. And a schedule of frequent appeals means keeping up communication year-round. In North America, it also means that the year-end appeal that is mailed in October or November is the main solicitation of the year. There is no "off-season."
We are preparing for our agency's annual appeal and given the current economic climate and increasing number of appeals from nonprofits, we are stepping back to think about how we would respond if we were the donors. My question today centers around frequency and timeline between letters. In the past, we have sent two mailings for one campaign that are as much as three months apart. This year we're sending three letters, one month apart for the same campaign. It is important to note that this group of donors is solicited via direct mail a minimum of two additional times throughout the year for entirely different appeals. Have you found a saturation point for donors with regard to the maximum amount of times they are asked before becoming annoyed, or worse yet, angry? Clearly the writing, presentation, relationship to donor all make a difference, but is there a 'best' frequency number? Is there a 'best' timeline between letters for an appeal? What has been your experience?
Sidenote: obviously there are the traditional thank-you letters, newsletters, etc., that are sent in between with a remittance envelope included.
ANSWER
There's no percentage in holding back on fundraising appeals in this climate -- especially in this climate. If you don't ask, you don't get. The frequency you describe seems anything but excessive to me as a general rule. I know of fundraising programs that solicit donors on a monthly basis throughout the year -- and sometimes weekly! Now, weekly is definitely excessive, and so is monthly solicitation for some donors, if not for all. The across-the-board answer to your question is to use segmentation to determine which of your donors to solicit more frequently and which ones less so. There are absolutely no one-size-fits-all frequency patterns.
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